Thai former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra made a phone-in address to his supporters at a rally in Bangkok last night, saying that "nobody" could bring him back to Thailand except "royal kindness" or "power of the people."

An estimated 100,000 red T-shirt-clad people from Bangkok and various provinces filled the Rajamangala National Stadium to attend the "Truth Today" demonstration, the highlight of which promises to be a message from Thaksin, who faces a two-year jail term in Thailand on an abuse of power charge.

Addressing his supporters through a phone call at around 8:50 pm local time (1250 GMT), Thaksin said he would like to come to visit his supporters but he could not because he was under 2-year jail term, which would force him to remain abroad for at least 10 years.

"Nobody can bring me back to Thailand, except royal kindness of the King or the power of the people," Thaksin said. He also claimed that many countries have offered him "honorary citizenship", "which made me a bit sad because I could do many things for anybody else in the world, but nothing now for my country."

Talking about his financial situation, he said his sale of the Manchester City Football Club to Arab billionaires, which reportedly gave him a doubled profit, "gave me enough to support my family."

About 1,000 crowd control police have been deployed to keep security at the Rajamangala Stadium, Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Amnuay Nimmano said earlier Saturday.

He said some 2,000 policemen had been on standby and ready to provide reinforcements if an untoward incident happens.

On Oct. 21, Thailand's Supreme Court for Political Office Holders sentenced Thaksin to two years in jail for abusing his powers as prime minister in 2003 by allowing his wife to bid on a plot of land put up for public auction.